Always
by LongHardRoadOuttaHell
Summary: Can you really live without the one you always want? Can you listen to everyone but yourself to leave behind the one you'll always love? Or will you always go running back? Z&V.


**This was something I wrote for myself, but I know a few people wanted to read it, so here it is. I certainly don't know what went on between Zac and Vanessa, but this is what I'd like to think kinda happened.**

"Don't answer it," Zac Efron grumbled as his girlfriend of 5 years, Vanessa Hudgens reached across him to pick up her phone which was on the bedside table next to him.

The pair were still in bed, in their hotel room in Hawaii where Zac had flown to spend Thanksgiving with Vanessa who was filming her latest movie, and the last thing Zac wanted was to have their private bubble shattered by one of their parents, or worse, one of their managers.

"It's Ash," Vanessa replied as she hit the talk button, holding the phone up to her ear as Zac pulled her down on top of him, his arms looping around her naked waist as she snuggled closer to him.

"Hey Ash," Vanessa said happily, now she had spent some time with Zac, she was missing her best friend Ashley like crazy.

"Guess who was caught getting hot and heavy by the papz last night?" Ashley sung and Vanessa groaned, instantly knowing the moment the blonde was referring to. "Yes, it was you and lover boy, putting on a show for the world to see."

"I was… distracted?" Vanessa offered, knowing that was a huge understatement, she had been more keen on getting more alone time with Zac that the thoughts of someone watching them hadn't even crossed her mind.

"You think?" Ashley teased. "You're lucky it was a cute video, unlike your other Hawaii raunchy straddling pictures."

"A video? Not just pictures?" Vanessa groaned, feeling Zac tense up below her. "Are you sure it's appropriate?"

"Forget what you and lover boy were up to out in public, did we V?" Ashley laughed, her laughter growing louder as Vanessa didn't answer. "You're terrible, you know that? But it's appropriate, for once Zac kept his hands off your ass and you were both clothed so that's always a plus."

"Thanks, Ash," Vanessa appreciated the call coming from her best friend, it meant she was prepared when her manager, or worse in this case, her parents, saw the video and called her to talk about it.

After saying their goodbyes, the best friends ended their conversation and Vanessa tossed her phone onto the bed behind her, snuggling right into Zac as he tightened his grip on her.

"So I guess we were spotted?" Zac sighed, he was always the one who took their privacy being violated the hardest.

"Yeah, Vanessa rubbed her hand up and down his arm to try and calm him. "Kissing outside the hotel. There's a video and some pictures."

Zac groaned and Vanessa squeezed his arm. "Don't worry, baby." She soothed. "Ash said it's all appropriate and sweet, completely opposite to what happened when we got into the hotel, huh?"

It took a few seconds for Zac's body to relax underneath Vanessa's, but the reminder of their activities the night before were more than enough to snap him out of his foul mood.

"Pictures and videos of that activity are for my eyes only," Zac growled, flipping their bodies over so that Vanessa was pinned under him, grinning at his mood change. "Oh and yours of course too."

"I don't wanna see pictures," Vanessa said pointedly, her hand resting on Zac's chest, sliding down his body as she continued to speak. "I want a hands-on replay."

_3 weeks later_

"You know you don't have to do this, right?" Ashley Tisdale told her best friend as they had yet another conversation over the phone.

"Everyone said they thought it would be best if me and Zac took a step back from our relationship, to see if we weren't just going for what was right in front of us." Vanessa explained for the hundredth time. "We had a big fight, Ash."

"You two have had plenty of big fights," Ashley reminded Vanessa. "But you never go more than a few days without making up."

"We have made up, kinda," Vanessa replied, sighing as she turned over to lay on her other side. "We're not like not together, we're just… taking a step back. Everyone thought it was a good idea. We're young and in such a serious relationship. I can see where they're all coming from."

"You're both miserable, that's all I can see."

"Well I know I am, but Zac seemed keen on the idea, he said.." Vanessa started, but Ashley cut her off.

"Zac would say anything if he thought it was what you wanted to hear," Ashley put in. "He is crazy in love with you, if he thought you wanted to end things for good, he would agree and act like it was what he wanted too, no matter how much it was crushing him."

"Do you think I should call him? I haven't seen him since Hawaii," Vanessa pleaded with all her might for Ashley to say that she should call him, she missed him more than she ever had before, simply knowing that they weren't meant to be talking made her crave to hear his familiar voice.

"Call him right now. Then call me," Ashley ordered, ending the conversation before Vanessa could say anything back, figuring if the brunette could keep her on the phone to avoid making a decision, she would do so for hours.

Holding out her phone Vanessa looked at it sadly, she'd removed the background of her and Zac, it hurt too much to look at it, and now it was a picture of her dog, Shadow. Within seconds she had brought up the screen to call Zac, but her finger hovered over the call button, wondering if he wanted to hear from her, they had only sent a few texts since their fight, not counting when he had called her to wish her a happy birthday and to let her know her birthday present was at his house if she wanted it.

Closing her eyes, Vanessa hit the call button, her dark browns popping open as she heard the ring tone through her phone. She immediately felt sick at the thought of Zac brushing her off when he answered the phone, or didn't answer the phone at all.

"Hello?" Came the breathless voice that was like music to Vanessa's ears.

"Zac?"

"Ness!" Zac couldn't help the grin that spread across his face at the sound of Vanessa's voice coming through his phone. He was so distracted by the fact that she had called, he dropped his towel that he was holding around his waist, having just got out of the shower when his phone started ringing.

"Um, are you busy?" Vanessa asked, suddenly feeling nervous about interrupting Zac, especially since he sounded breathless.

"No I, uh, just got out the shower." Zac answered awkwardly. "Just um, give me a second to get dressed, okay?"

Vanessa nodded, not even thinking about the fact that Zac couldn't see her, and Zac, thinking he had embarrassed her by all but admitting he was naked, quickly put the phone down on the bed, silently scolding himself for not thinking more about what he was saying to her.

Once he was dried and dressed in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, Zac laid down on his bed, putting his phone back to his ear.

"Sorry about that," Zac said, referring both to leaving the conversation, and for making her uncomfortable.

"That's okay," Vanessa replied, willing herself to stop thinking about all the times they had shared the shower at Zac's house.

The pair were quiet for a minute before Vanessa remembered she was the one who had called him so she should be the one to speak first.

"So, how have you been?" Vanessa asked, too quickly, her words stumbling together.

"Okay, I guess," Zac admitted, running his fingers through his short, wet hair. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Vanessa replied, accidentally letting the sadness sweep through her voice. "But um, I was just calling to…"

Vanessa cut off as she realised she didn't even know what she was calling for, she just knew that she missed him so much that her heart was heavy and she was on the brink of tears constantly.

"Calling to?" Zac echoed, feeling his throat tighten as he heard the sound of Vanessa fighting back sobs. "Baby, don't cry, please."

"I miss you," Vanessa choked out. "I'm sorry I called, Zac, I'll just, I'll just talk to you later okay?"

Before Zac could reply, Vanessa had ended the conversation. It took him only a few seconds to jump up from his bed, grabbing the first pair of jeans he saw, and almost falling over in his rush to put them on. As he left his bedroom he grabbed a small box, sliding it into his back pants pocket as he hurriedly left the room.

Without thinking about how cold it was outside, Zac left the house in only a t-shirt, rushing out to his car and starting on the ever familiar drive to Vanessa's house.

Knowing that he didn't want the paparazzi to know he was going there, since it had somehow been leaked only a few days prior that they were taking a break, Zac parked his car in the next street over from Vanessa's house. As he went to exit the vehicle he realised he was blatantly obvious to who he was, and he rummaged around in the car for a hoody, beanie and sunglasses, slipping them all on and hurrying from the car.

Nicely disguised he jogged quickly over to Vanessa's house, ringing the bell since he decided it wouldn't be appropriate to use his key at the current time.

After what felt like an eternity, the door cracked open, enough for him to slip in, and once he was inside he was met with a red-eyed, tear-stained Vanessa, who broke into a fresh round of sobs as she saw Zac had come over to check on her.

"You don't have to do this you know," Vanessa sobbed as Zac pulled her into his arms, hugging her so tightly it was actually painful. Her words made Ashley's words ring through her head, and she knew in that moment that she didn't want to be on a break from Zac for a second longer.

"I know, but I want to comfort you, Van," Zac said softly, loosening his grip as he realised his pressure had to be hurting Vanessa's tiny stature. "I know you wanted to go on this break, but I love you, and I don't want you to be hurting."

"I am hurting," Vanessa confessed, drawing back enough from Zac to look at him and realise he was still wearing his disguise. Tugging the beanie off she let it drop to the floor, then she removed the sunglasses, reaching behind her to place them on the table by the front door where she kept her keys. "Do you want to do this?"

"The break?" Zac asked, knowing exactly what Vanessa meant, because seeing her so upset and feeling her in his arms made him realise that he didn't want more than to be with her. Vanessa nodded to let him know he was on the right track and Zac thought for a second before he answered.

"I don't," he confessed. "But if it's what you want, I'll…"

"I don't want it," Vanessa said quickly. "I was just listening to everyone else and not listening to my heart. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise, baby," Zac whispered, dropping his forehead down to Vanessa's.

The pair stood staring into each others eyes for a few minutes, not needing words to express their great relief that the other was feeling just the same way as they were.

After a few minutes, Vanessa tugged Zac over to the living room, letting him pull her down to sit next to each other on the couch. Once they were seated, Vanessa cuddled into Zac's side, feeling the weight of the past few weeks floating away, letting her drift into a peaceful sleep.

As Vanessa slept, Zac let himself think of the past weeks, he thought he was doing what Vanessa wanted, but now having seen how miserable and upset Vanessa had been about the whole situation he realised that they had lacked in communication, something they hadn't had an issue with before.

Stretching out, Zac moved Vanessa in his arms, careful not to wake her, as he vowed that they needed to talk everything through properly, once she was rested.

Three hours later Zac woke up, his neck aching from sleeping awkwardly on the sofa, and he realised the warm weight of Vanessa was missing. Rubbing his eyes as he struggled to focus he heard her in the direction of the kitchen and he stood up, stumbling through the living room.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Vanessa asked softly, seeing her boyfriend standing in the doorway watching her.

Zac noticed the sparkle back in her eyes and the colour back in her cheeks and he couldn't help but smile, feeling suddenly awake as he took a few quick steps towards her and swept her up in his arms.

"We need to talk about… everything," Zac reminded Vanessa as he set her upon the counter, her legs wrapping around his waist as they embraced again.

"I'm sorry for starting the fight," Vanessa mumbled against Zac's neck, feeling herself tear up again.

"You didn't start it, Van," Zac argued. "It was my fault, I know you can't help that you need to start more filming so soon. I just hate having to share you so much."

Vanessa nodded, knowing exactly what Zac was meaning, and also knowing that at any other time her reminding him that she didn't have a long break between filming would've only made her boyfriend promise to visit her on set. But they were tense when she reminded him, on the journey back to the airport after he'd spent Thanksgiving with her, and Zac had snapped at her, and she had snapped right back at him.

"I was stressed out and I stupidly listened to people who told me that maybe we needed a break from each other, until we could spend some quality time together," Vanessa explained, even though Zac knew her reasoning, Ashley had told him when he couldn't work out why his girlfriend would suddenly ask for a break from their relationship.

"You did what you thought was right," Zac pointed out. "And in turn I did what I thought was right by agreeing with what I thought you wanted. We kinda forgot to properly talk it through, huh?"

"Yeah," Vanessa agreed, nuzzling her nose into Zac's neck. "I'm sorry it all had to happen, Zac. I was being irrational and we could've avoided this whole few weeks of misery if it wasn't for me."

"You silly girl," Zac said as he pulled away slightly to look Vanessa in the eyes as he spoke. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be madly in love."

Vanessa blushed at Zac's sincere comment, muttering "I love you too" before Zac gently kissed her, brushing against her lips ever so softly until Vanessa leant in further, pressing their lips together properly in a loving, slow kiss.

It didn't take long before the pair had moved to Vanessa's bedroom, the majority of their clothes lay forgotten about on the floor as the pair took their time getting reacquainted.

Zac's lips were pressed gently against the smooth, flatness that was Vanessa's stomach while her hands were on the back of Zac's head, her fingers kneading into his scalp in a way that was making him just as intoxicated as the feel and taste of her skin was.

Usually after one or both of them had been filming, their reunions were fast and passionate, no time for taking it slow as they were both always so eager for the other person, but this time they were taking their time. Zac was kissing every inch of Vanessa he could reach, from the waistline of her black underwear up to her heaving chest.

"When I thought about us… not being together, this is what I thought about," Vanessa confessed heavily, holding her head up a little so she could meet Zac's confused blue stare as he stopped, his lips pressed just below her left breast.

"About us doing this?" Zac queried and Vanessa shook her head, realising she hadn't made herself clear since her brain was still foggy from the feel of Zac's lips upon her.

"About you, doing this," Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. "With someone else."

Zac noticed the tears forming in Vanessa's eyes, and forgetting they were half naked he moved up the bed to lay next to Vanessa on his side, pulling her body flush against his as he spoke.

"I can't even think about doing something like this with someone that isn't you, baby," he comforted her, raking his hand softly through her curls. "You're the only girl I want to kiss, to touch, to love, always."

As he spoke he first kissed Vanessa just below her ear, then slid his hand down her body, lifting her leg over his hip, opening her body to him. With his last words he gently slid his finger into her, making her let out a gasp that quickly turned into a moan as his finger started to move inside her, joined quickly by another.

All thoughts of Zac being with another woman left Vanessa's mind as Zac worked her body in a way only he knew how to, reminding each of them that they were with the one they trusted, the one they adored, the one they loved.

Just the way they would always be.


End file.
